I was not sure which speakers I was going to buy, so I just ran the wires and installed low-voltage boxes with cover plates. I can either mount my speakers on brackets and run them over to the low voltage box, or cut out a little more sheetrock and remove the low voltage boxes to allow mounting speakers in the wall.

Make sure the speaker wiring you use is rated for in-wall installation (CL2 or CL3 rating).

Bruce

in wall/in ceiling speakers don't typically require boxes of any sort, they have their own mounting/hanging tabs. in my experience, the drywallers just drill a hole big enough to pull the wire through in the approximate area that the speaker will go (between the proper joists). Ultimately, I would ask your drywaller andspeaker installer. Drywaller might charge you more to cut them out before. speaker installer probably assumes he's going to have to cut some drywall.

if it came strictly down to preference, I would prefer to cut the speakers out while installing speakers. The speakers also (usually) come with a template that you can stick to the surface to guide your cut.

We have had this question many times from customers. Our answer is that the customer should rely on the AV integrator to pick a full range speaker line that has the added benefit of all being the same physical size. Once you do this, a speaker dry-wall ring is always recommended as it allows you the home owner to see what your ceilings will look like prior to drywall going up. There is also zero confusion on the part of the drywall installer as to what he should do with the installed speaker wire. For example, if you went with Klipsch in-wall speakers, the R-1650-C, CDT-2650-C and CDT-3650-CII all fit in the same speaker hole. These speakers vary in price from $100 to $300 per speaker. Klipsch is not the only brand that has this feature, but it is one of them that works well for most folks.